Sugar Plum Bread — The Making Is the Asking

Christmas approaches in the pandemic's December, and the celebration will be the smallest in the history of this household: Naomi, Robert, Mama. James will be here (driving from Columbia on the 23rd). Carrie will not (Atlanta to Charleston too risky, the virus surging, the drive a vector she is unwilling to become). Joy will visit for the afternoon (Magnolia House allowing a two-hour supervised visit, masked, in the garden if weather permits, in the common room if not).

I have accepted the smallness. The acceptance is not resignation — it is the maturity that this year has forced on everyone, the understanding that the gathering is not the holiday, the people are the holiday, and the people can be present in a phone call or a video screen or a care package sent from Atlanta containing a painting Carrie made of the Beaufort parsonage kitchen, which she painted from memory of my descriptions, having never seen it herself, and which is both inaccurate (the window is in the wrong place) and perfect (the light is right, the feeling is right, the kitchen is right), because memory is not accuracy. Memory is feeling. And the feeling is what the painting captures.

I am making Carrie's painting the cover of the cookbook. The decision was immediate and irrevocable. The painting is the parsonage kitchen as a daughter imagines it through her mother's stories — not the real kitchen but the kitchen of narrative, the kitchen of love, the kitchen that exists in the space between what I said and what Carrie heard. That kitchen is more real than the real one. That kitchen is the book.

I made the fruitcake and the eggnog and the gingerbread and the cookies and all the things that December requires, not because anyone asked but because the making is the asking, and the asking is the giving, and the giving is the Christmas, and the Christmas does not require a full table. It requires a stove, a woman, and the willingness to make the food that says: I am here. You are loved. The kitchen is warm.

I baked the Sugar Plum Bread on the twenty-second, the day before James arrived, the house quiet and smelling of cinnamon and yeast and the particular warmth that only a December oven can produce. I have made this bread every Christmas for longer than I can account for, and I made it this year for the same reason I made everything else: not because anyone asked, but because the making is the asking. The bread does not require a crowd. It requires hands, and a warm kitchen, and the willingness to say — in flour and fruit and a little sweetness — that the people you love are worth the effort, whether they are sitting at your table or two states away, opening a care package, or just held in the warmth of the thought.

Sugar Plum Bread

Prep Time: 25 minutes + 1 hour 30 minutes rise | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes | Servings: 12 slices

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (one standard packet)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 3/4 cup whole milk, warmed to 110°F
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup dried plums (prunes), roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/4 cup chopped toasted almonds or walnuts
• For the glaze: 1 cup powdered sugar, 2–3 tbsp milk, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Activate the yeast. In a small bowl, combine the warm milk and 1 tsp of the sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over the top and let stand 5–10 minutes until foamy and fragrant.
2. Mix the dough. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, remaining sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture, softened butter, and eggs. Stir until a shaggy dough forms.
3. Knead. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8–10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. The dough will be slightly tacky — resist adding too much flour.
4. Fold in the fruit and nuts. Flatten the dough gently and scatter the chopped plums, cranberries, raisins, and nuts over the surface. Fold and knead just until evenly distributed, about 2 minutes.
5. First rise. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
6. Shape. Punch down the dough and shape it into a smooth oval loaf. Place in a greased 9x5-inch loaf pan. Cover and let rise again for 30 minutes, until the dough crowns just above the rim of the pan.
7. Bake. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the top is deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the top browns too quickly, tent loosely with foil after 20 minutes.
8. Cool and glaze. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth and drizzle over the cooled loaf.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 265 | Protein: 6g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 45g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 210mg